Council tables $3.3 million water‑main replacement award pending additional service-history and prioritization data

The Farmers Branch City Council on June 17 voted to table action on a $3,300,000 contract award for the 2025 water main replacement program so staff can provide more detail on how candidate streets were selected and whether the work aligns with oldest infrastructure and service history.

Ray Solarez, director of public works, presented the low bid from J and L Construction LLC and said the project replaces aging cast-iron mains with PVC in several clustered neighborhoods. Solarez said the PVC standard has a longer service life and the cluster-based approach helps minimize mobilization across the city.

Council members questioned the selection criteria. Councilwoman Burton asked for the priority ranking from prior plans and whether the project list follows previously established engineering priorities; she expressed concern that doing out-of-order projects risks additional costs if upstream or downstream work later requires rework. Councilman Reid and others said they wanted service‑history logs and installation dates for the streets included in the proposed contract to better understand why specific roads were selected. Solarez said existing materials and bids were prepared in-house from prior plans and that staff would follow up with a clearer justification.

Because the bids are recent, council asked whether delaying approval would risk cost increases; staff said bidders typically hold prices for a limited period and that staff would confirm whether the bidders would hold current prices while the council requests more information.

The council moved to table the award to allow staff to return with the requested service-history, installation dates, and prioritization rationale; the motion to table passed unanimously. Staff said it will provide the additional materials and return the item at the next regular meeting as feasible.